Mondelez International takes out sweet £1m insurance policy for one of its chocolate tasting-scientists
Mondelez International has taken niche insurance to a whole new level after it insured the taste buds of one of its chocolate scientists for £1m with Lloyd's of London.
Hayleigh Curtis works as part of Cadbury's innovation team at Mondelez's Global Centre of Chocolate Excellence, based in Bournville, the birthplace of Cadbury chocolate.
The specialist chocolate team is responsible for the creation and development of every new chocolate product created by Mondelez anywhere in the world.
Hayleigh Curtis had better not burn her tongue on that liquid chocolate (Source: Mondelez International)
To protect her newly-insured tasting faculties, Curtis will need to avoid sword swallowing, eating Fugu fish (the potentially poisonous Japanese pufferfish delicacy) and chilli peppers with a Scoville heat rating of greater than 350,000. Any of these things could compromise her taste buds and render the insurance void.
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Jonathan Thomas from Lloyd's of London said: "Taste buds are as important to Cadbury as legs are to a top footballer and it seems like Hayleigh has been doing a great job creating new flavours with the team.
"We've insured some interesting assets over the years, and this certainly adds to the mix.
"The policy Mondelez International has taken out with us on behalf of Cadbury demonstrates just how important innovation is to their brand and after seeing what Hayleigh gets up to in Bournville, we're even more excited to see the new flavours on the horizon."